While my friends were playing cowboys and indians I was questioning my parents and teachers why indians were killing white people (that was the message in all the movies and tv series - that indians were the bad guys). Thanks to them I soon realized that story is always told by the ones who wins battles and wars and that information is manipulated by a small group of people. I learned that in the reality, white people, or conquers as they were called, slaughtered natives due to greed. They stole from them their land, their culture and their possessions. They put natives into slavery, erased their cultures and beliefs and tried to transform them into something they were not.The real savages were not the indians. No matter where it was, Brazil, Colombia, Australia, Mexico or in the US, the story was always the same.

In 2004 I spent a lot of my free time researching for photos, historical sites and artifacts of American Native Indians. I was particularly in love with Zunis and Navajos.

I had a dream project of opening a shop in São Paulo where I would sell Indian's textiles dolls and jewelry. The project stayed in my dreams but the love for this culture was planted deep into my heart.

When I first started to read about Roxana Villa and her brand Roxana Illuminated Perfume, I got very interested not only in her fragrances and in her art, but also in her concern with the world surrounding her and her family (example: her support and activities concerning The California Chaparral Institute).

We were writing to each other, exchanging ideas, and she sent me a beautiful set of samples of her collection.

I thought it was funny when I read in her site that Chaparral was called the cowboy perfume because the first image that came to my mind when I opened the sample vial was INDIANS!

I learned that Chaparral is a perfume inspired by her love for the indigenous plants of California, and her research back in 2006 on incense. Roxana learned how Native Americans used sage to clear space or to fumigate an individual, and she decided to create a perfume surrounding incense and the California Native American Indians.

According to the designer it is a tail of aromatic spirit and tradition of the wild west. It is a combination of essences, accords and tinctures of plants found in the Chaparral Biome of California.

Perfume notes: frankincense, wood and sage

To me it was like translating all the images I have researched, compared and and fell in love with, into a fragrance. It was really transforming images into a smell.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Andy Tauer is a Swiss perfumer that has been around quite a lot here in my blog for one particular reason: I find him the best concept perfume designer. And Lonestar Memories is my favorite of his creations.

Andy Tauer in his lab

In his own words: "A scent created on memories of a wide land, open pastures, earthy leather, warm smoke, being there, I am free and true."

The fragrance is rich, powerful, long lasting and it marks presence. Once you wear it, there is no chance you will walk around a crowd and not be notice.

What is fascinating about the fragrance is that although you relate to the cowboy image - a man of the wild, simple, lonely, unshaved, tanned, with leather boots, worn out jeans, and dirty hands, the fragrance is very chic, very elegant.

With the green opening the cowboy starts his journey.

He lives the farm with the cattle knowing he will not see his love for months to come. He drives the cattle through the woods, riding his horse down the hill, very early in the morning. As he rides he passes his hands on the green leafs of pine trees.

Down the hill he reaches the valley, the waterfront is beautiful, the foliage gets greener, the rocks are covered with grass and flowers, we reach the heart of the fragrance.

The cowboy leads the cattle to cross the river. The cattle crosses slowly and the sun hits the face like a whip. The leather saddle gets wet. The smell of horse sweat, leather and dust combined revitalizes with fresh flows of water. Our cowboy washes his face and struggles to get to the other side. His clothes are wet, heavy and it is difficult to cross the river. It is a hard work that demands a lot of energy. The perfume explodes on the skin.

Later that day he will find a place to camp during the night. He hangs his wet clothes to dry, he lights the fire and rest. He throws aromatic herbs on the fire and the wood begins to burn.

The smell of the herbs dances around the smell of the wet leather and the smoky notes of the fire. The fragrance involves the night and the cowboy finishes his coffee. He lies near the fire, plays his harmonica and relaxes. He connects to the silence of the nature and the noises of the animals of the wild.

The cattle rests from the long journey.

Our cowboy wishes he had a warm body to hold to. He looks at the flames and he sees a naked body dancing. His body is warming up and he longs for a touch.

Andy Tauer's fragrance irradiates sexiness.

As the wood burns the fragrance stimulates flames of desire.

Our cowboy feels the hands caressing his skin. The soft touch of hands that will lead his dreams.

Lonestar Memories has a gentle velvety touch, a profuse and strong performance. It is extremely sexy, rich, intense and a genius perfume!

Lonestar Memories comes in a white box with a picture of a cowboy in black & white. Although the cowboy is cute, the fragrance brings to my mind a picture of a cowboy more virile, more masculine than this one from Tauer's advertising.

Mine is the Clint Eastwood kind of cowboy.

The cowboy from the good, the bad and the ugly ( Il Buono, Il Brutto, Il Cattivo). Violent, uncomplicated, powerful, simple and sexy man with a good soul.

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Dr. Avery Gilbert is a sensory psychologist specialized in the sense of smell. He has conducted research on human odor perception in academic laboratories and in the R&D divisions of multinational perfume companies. He has been lecturing and teaching audiences about the science of smell. He is also the author of the book, What the Nose Knows: The Science of Scent in Everyday Life. It's a fast-paced tour of the latest discoveries and how they challenge long-held beliefs about the sense of smell.

Dr. Avery Gilbert

Photo Credit: Dr.A.G.

+ Q Perfume is a blog interest in all aspects involving fragrances, including the sense of smell. Therefore this blogger is always looking for articles and personalities discussing these themes.

Back in 2008 I discovery Dr. Avery Gilbert's blog called First Nerve - the science and culture of smell. I was very excited to find a professional discussing themes related to the sense of smell and the influence of smells on human behavior. In his blog one can find not only very scientific articles, but also others approaching aspects of our daily lives (some are hilarious).

I sent him questions that were in my mind for a long time, Curiosities that I had about practical things. I didn't want to deep level scientific discussions and themes because we can read them in his blog.

So learn here more about this impressive professional:

+Q.: Why do we like some scents, odors and fragrances and dislike others?

A.G.: People often disagree about individual smells but there is agreement about general classes of smells. For example, fruity and floral notes are liked, while fecal and rotten ones are not. If there were no broad trends in preference there would be no perfume industry. Are odor preferences due to learning and experience?That’s the default assumption of most psychologists, who tend to dislike biological theories.I think the more we look for biological or even genetic bases for differences in odor perception, the more we will find.

+Q.: How exactly marketing campaigns can influence our decision to buy this or that perfume? (related to sense of smelletc…)

A.G.: Marketing matters.It can get you to try a new scent but it can’t make you buy the second bottle if you don’t like it.And if the fragrance is good, but the packaging and presentation don’t fit, then the perfume won’t do well commercially.As perfume becomes more like Hollywood—a reliance on blockbusters, endless sequels, importance of celebrities—perfume marketing runs into similar problems.How do you make a unique campaign for the thousandth picture about car chases and explosions?

+Q.: The Kama Sutra, the fifth-century Hindu sex manual, written by men, praises the scent of women and proclaims that the beauty of a woman is not determined by how she looks, but rather how she smells. But isn't it true that body chemistry influences women more than men when choosing biological possible mates?

A.G.: Both can be true. Let’s say that for men body scent is a source of tactical information—it’s about immediate sexual arousal or turnoff.For women, it’s a strategic matter—choosing a biologically compatible mate for the long haul. This is consistent with evolutionary considerations: males try to maximize mating opportunities, females look to maximize parental investment.Vive le difference!

+Q.: Where do expressions like “this is smelling bad” or “it stinks” come from?

A.G.: A lot of our descriptive terms are crossovers from the other senses.For example, a lot of things smell “sweet” or “sour” by analogy to taste, and “sharp” by analogy to touch. This is currently a hot area for research: it turns out there are brain areas that integrate information from multiple senses, including smell.

+Q.: I was always told that dogs and other animals could smell fear. Is it true?

A.G.: It’s part of the conventional wisdom and there may be a kernel of truth to it. Denise Chen at Rice University just showed that underarm sweat from guys watching stressful movies makes women see fear in ambiguous facial expressions. So perhaps dogs can pick up the same chemical cues.

+Q.: Freshly brewed coffee is one of the aromas I love the most. Why is it so pleasant to smell roasted coffee or brewed coffee in the morning?

A.G.: I’m the same way. Could it be the psychological association with breakfast? Or a physiological conditioning linked to caffeine? Good coffee is so important to me that I have fresh-roasted beans shipped out from Peet’s in Berkeley, California. I remember the late Mr. Peet from my college days there.

A recent study on the effects of roast coffee aroma got quite a lot of publicity. Coffee aroma increased the expression of genes relevant to stress relief: anti-oxidants, energy metabolism, and so on.There were also changes in protein production that had a similar anti-stress pattern.The experiment was done on male rats, so the results probably seem to be directly physiological—not due to fond stress-relieving memories from college coffee shops!

About the Author

Simone Shitrit is a Sao Paulo-based olfactive designer, author & editor for +Q Perfume Blog, +Q Perfume Trends & Blends Blog. She was for more than 2 years exclusive fragrance contributor for the Brazilian Beauty site Cristiana Arcangeli (The iconic entrepreneur and reference to the Brazilian Cosmetic & Perfumery Industry), fragrance evaluator and free lancer writer for the Brazilian Beauty & Cosmetics magazine Atualidade Cosmética. Exclusive Fragrance Consultant for one of the largest Brazilian news Broadcasters - BandNews. She is also the official translator and chief editor of Fragrantica. br. She also gives lectures and promotes events about perfumery and for perfume brands.

As a Fragrance expert and consultant always cutting edge, she was the first and only perfume blogger to be a juror of the Brazilian Perfumery & Cosmetics Awards - Atualidade Cosmética; consultant for big fashion magazines such as Marie Claire and House and Garden in Brazil; freelancer evaluator for Fragrance Houses in Brazil; and is always invited to be present in fashion, design, gourmet and perfumery events.

With a background in International Trading, Business Administration and International Marketing and Corporate Law, she has been working with multinational companies and governmental organizations. Today she is the senior marketing manager for Orphek Led Lighting Solutions.

All the contents of this blog belong to its Author and Editor, and are protected by intellectual property rights. +Q Perfume contents (texts, opinions and pictures) and layout are protected by copyrights laws, which prohibit any use of the material appearing on this blog for commercial purposes under the applicable legislation. All pictures shown in the blog were courtesy of its owners; therefore they cannot be copied without previous consent of the Author.